Amazingly the piece of WS roadbed I had was right on top of the pile in the garage, so I was able to closely compare the two. Just looking at the edges, you can see the stuff from eBay is denser. Pushing on both sitting on my desk, the WS is definitely softer and squishier. Only thing they DON’T have in this stuff is any different thicknesses for sidings. Though I suppose you could stack the HO size on top of one of the larger ones for the full mainline ballast prpfile and drop down to just a single layer of the HO stuff for a siding.
I never had an issue on the layout with WS, even runnign brass and some really heavy locos - like some AThearns with the Cary bodies. The squishiness is a complete non-issue, it still takes more force than any HO loco weights to actually squash it - maybe if bare rails were run on the foam and not with any ties, but why would you ever do that? This stuff, being stiffer, but still softer than cork, seems about ideal. And being foam it will never dry out and crumble like cork.
I was able to sand WS, and this stuff should sand as well - you just can’t go at it with 100 grit or a Surform, it will tear it up. Lacking a thinner version, I may have to do this, or use WS N scale, which is thinner than their HO scale, as I did in the past.
Randy – I have been trying to get in touch with Steve Cox for months through his presumably now defunct Cacasde email and phone number. I opted for he to complete my order but I cannot get a respone now for several months. Does anyone have current contact infor him? – Thanks much. – Bob R
New member here, first time poster (I’ve always wanted to say that). I’m involved in other forums (non-railroad-oriented), but none in this industry. I decided to join, in particular because of this thread, which I happen to come upon rather randomly when doing a search for Homabed. I was very saddened to see that Cascade closed up, as I was, along with many others, looking forward to using the product when I started my layout (a retirement endeavor in the forthcoming future).
Lamenting aside, I’m looking for more information into the viability of picking up the torch and perhaps making a run of a product that would be very similar to the Homabed. I currently have two pallets of the Homasote at my disposal and the facilities to process it. If my calculations are correct, that’s enough to make around 15,000 lf of roadbed in HO, not counting TO’s. That’s certainly more than I would need. I would need a sample and any information that anyone would care to share with me. I currently and certainly do not have all of the answers, but possibly an opportunity to help further not just my own plans, but others, as well.
If I’m stepping over the bounds of the forum rules, then please let the Moderators contact me. I’m not exactly trying to sell anything at this point, but certainly trying to give folks a new prospect of obtaining a product that is no longer available.
Hi, RL. Forum admin here. While it’s OK to discuss the viability and logistics of starting such an endeavor, by the time you get to actually forming a company and offering product, that will be the time to take it off the Forums.
My experience is similar with NittanyLion. I’ve used Homasote now on 3 previous layouts (one in Indiana, one in New York state, one in my previous house and now on my current (under construction layout - below).
Whatever Randy was using “It does NOT hold spike, or nails, or anything” must have been a different material than what I bought and used on those 3 previous layouts and the current one.
I’ve used Homabed too and it worked similar to the sheet Homasote I bought at some big box hardware stores.
The track laid recently in the staging yard photo’s above is held firmly in place using Atlas track nails and ME medium spikes. In some cases I put spikes or track nails on the sides of ties. Some of t
I have used homasote as a base for handlayed track, and for flex track since the 70’s. Both as milled roadbed and as whole sheets for yards, etc.
I have nailed track and glued track to it, it holds VERY well with nails.
On my last layout I installed the Homabed/Cascade roadbed with a brad nailer, worked great. Track was glued with adhesive caulk (not painters caulk), turnouts were nailed, not caulked.
Hopefully someone will bring this product back to market.
I have decided on using Peco’s long thin track pins going into Homasote on my next layout. Experiments with this had very good results. Homasote held the track pins well.
I’ve only ever used Atlas track nails or MicroEngineering medium spikes.
The ME spikes tend to work very nicely on Shinohara and Walthers track which has spike holds on the outsides of the ties. Peco has a few holes molded in like that too on the points end of the turnout.
Are Peco’s long thin track pins used in a similar manner as the Atlas track nails?
Steve you need to think Big Picture, you could sell it at www.kalmbachhobbystore.com along with Midwest Cork and Woodland Scenics roadbed and everyone would be happy.
That is one of the factors to determine. That is, if there is still a need or enough demand for the product. I know I want to utilize milled homasote when the time comes, so I am going to make X amount, regardless. I also don’t want to sit on 10,000 LF if it only sits on the shelf and no one wants it.
Here is a question for everyone: I remember that Cascade had two different slopes available for at least HO and N. One was 45-degrees and the other 30-degrees. Was this a choice of Era, Location, Specific Prototype or something else? Are both options still needed or was there one slope that was vastly used over the other?
Steve you need to think Big Picture, you could sell it at www.kalmbachhobbystore.com along with Midwest Cork and Woodland Scenics roadbed and everyone would be happy.
Hopefully, someone from Kalmbach Hobby Store can chime in and let me know if they would like to see it on the shelf, again.
Based on every rail standard book I’ve ever looked at, the correct ballast slope is 22 to 30 degrees.
I don’t know where the 45 degree slope came from; I suspect it was easy to do.
Both the CNW Historical Society and the Soo Line Historical Society sell copies of the standards books that include information on roadbed and subroadbed.
I thought Plasser & Theurer used between 31 and 38 degrees for the actual ballast prism in their equipment. The point remains the same about 45 degrees being ‘too steep’. I was surprised by how little theoretical discussion actually comes out and gives an angle…
I always assumed the 45 degrees was either to minimize waste in making straight pieces or to match the profile of the straight pieces so cut.
